Patton and His Pistols: The Favorite Side Arms of General George S. Patton, Jr.

By Perry Parke

Intrigued by hints of “the bigger man” behind the war personality of Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., the Curator of History of the West Point Museum and a former “Army wife” studied and compared innumerable legends and stories about him. The resulting profile is the unvarnished Patton, as the public saw him and as his friends and soldiers knew him.
Based solidly on contemporary sources, many of them never before tapped by historians, Patton’s exploited in Mexico, in France in 1918, and during World War II, are strung together by kernels of truth often more startling than the fiction which has surrounded them. One of America’s most famous and controversial generals is depicted through his attitude toward his famous hand guns and uniforms, and the manner in which he reacted to war and to peace.
Four pistols are featured in the book, because four pistols were featured in his ife. Sixteen pages of pertinent illustrations, many published for the first time…including the only known photograph of Patton carrying two pistols…accompany the documented narrative. The pistol expert will find detailed appendixes on General Patton’s favorite weapons and their accouterments.
Patton and His Pistols is a book for everyone interested in Patton the leader and Patton the man.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Release date: Mar 28, 2018
• ISBN: 9780811767385

Book preview

PATTON

AND HIS

PISTOLS

PATTON

AND HIS

PISTOLS

The Favorite Side Arms of General George S. Patton, Jr.

Milton F. Perry and Barbara W. Parke

STACKPOLE

BOOKS

Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

Published by Stackpole Books

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

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www.rowman.com

Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright © 1957 by Milton F. Perry and Barbara W. Parke

First Stackpole Books paperback edition 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

LCCN 57-11302

ISBN 978-0-8117-3760-9 (paperback: alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-8117-6738-5 (electronic)

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Foreword

I want the men of the Third Army to know where I am, and that I risk the same dangers that they do. A little fancy dress is added to help maintain the leadership and fighting spirit that I desire in the Third Army.

—GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR., to Major General Robert M. Littlejohn, in France, December, 1944.

Introduction

GENERAL George S. Patton, Jr., is well remembered. Statues, busts and paintings of him are scattered from Boston to the Virginia Military Institute to the Veterans Center on Park Avenue. The Administration Center of the United States Army Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas, bears his name, as does a bridge near the bomb-shaken cathedral landmark of Cologne, Germany. On the opening in 1947 of the Luxembourg portion of Freedom Highway, commemorating the route of the Third Army from the Brittany Peninsula to Germany, four stamps were issued by that country which sadly but proudly provided Patton’s final resting place. On a bright blue Special Delivery size United States stamp that was issued in 1953, tanks bracket a portrait of his craggy features. A stained-glass window in his boyhood church depicts him as St. George killing a swastika-skinned dragon. A library has been established as a memorial to him at Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania, and there is a Patton Drive in Arlington Cemetery. Most famous of all, a medium tank, which carries a 90-millimeter gun and can bridge a trench eight feet across, was christened for him in 1948 and remains the backbone of our armored strength today.

The average American over twenty-five years of age, while probably not cognizant of all of the above, usually recalls Patton's over-developed ability to cuss, and some of the more thoughtful phrases he coined to inspire GIs to do more than they believed themselves capable of in battle. But especially one remembers his predilection for carrying very distinctive side arms. The latter became his trademark.

Ten or fifteen years’ work would be required for a full scale biography of Patton. In the interim, a little book which exhausts available information on certain aspects of this great field commander has seemed worth compiling. Motivated by research focused originally on the two ivory-handled revolvers loaned indefinitely to the West Point Museum at the United States Military Academy by the Patton family, the volume could ignore neither Patton’s expletives or succinct sayings, nor for that matter his life, foibles, strength and humor. Behind the pistol story—itself full of surprises—a human being has lurked, contrary and many-sided, someone who might have been invented by W. Somerset Maugham. Patton’s very real inconsistencies have complicated the matter at hand, but have acted as a challenge as well, for as the story developed, the man emerged, as flamboyant, as warm and as unpredictable as any in truth or fiction. More important, his personality and public character were so strongly reflected by his choice of side arms and uniforms that it was inevitable that Patton the person would be drawn in outline.

This book has been shaped by the material, not the material made to fit preconceived theories. Three purposes have remained constant: to correct widespread but erroneous beliefs about Patton’s World War II revolvers, to sift the many legends for truth, and to produce a readable work of lasting value.

Wherever possible the actual comments of persons who worked with Patton, or who knew him well, or who were related to him have been included. It is hoped that this will provide a basis for future works and present features that might be overlooked in definitive studies of a man the late Douglas Southhall Freeman considered an excellent subject for a great military biography. To this end footnotes have been appended, together with data on the featured arms and their accessories, which will be of interest to the technical reader.

Besides Brigadier General John K. Waters, Ruth Ellen Totten and Captain George S. Patton, the son-in-law, daughter and son respectively of General George S. Patton, Jr., the authors are greatly indebted to the following persons: Major Generals James L. Collins, Hobart R. Gay, Douglass T. Greene, Paul D. Harkins, E. N. Harmon, Kenyon A. Joyce and Robert M. Littlejohn; Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes; Joseph T. Angelo; J. W. Lapine; former High Commissioner of the U.S. Zone of Germany, John J. McCloy; Sergeant John L. Mims; Lieutenant Colonels Albert R. Hoffman and Al C. Stiller; Colonel Joseph W. Viner; former Secretary of State and Governor of South Carolina, James F. Byrnes; and Charles C. Coles (Curator, the Colt Museum), Horace E. Steins (Smith and Wesson), and Roy C. Swan (Remington Arms Company). Also, General Omar N. Bradley; Charles R. Codman; Colonels William Couper (of the Virginia Military Institute), M. S. Dickson and H. M. Exton; Sergeants F/C Gordon C. Appleton and Charles J. Costello; Victor R. Devereaux; Thomas C. Florich; George B. Gennaro; John F. Hummer; Frank C. Irvine; James E. Matteson; Carl Meskill; Ernie Mrazz; John F. Rollmann; G. H. Sheets; George H. Webber.

The following libraries opened their files to the authors: New York Daily News and New York Daily Mirror; the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, Hyde Park, New York; and the West Point Library, whose staff continually assisted the authors. The Los Angeles Public Library, and the National Archives and offices of the Quartermaster General and the Chief of Ordnance, Washington, D. C., provided pertinent material. The American Rifleman publicized the authors’ search for material, and Karl T. Fredericks, one-time Olympics’ pistol champion currently serving on the Board of Governors of the American Rifle Association, offered several valuable suggestions after reading the final manuscript from a technical standpoint.

Last but far from least the authors wish to acknowledge the numerous persons, from as far away as Basel, Switzerland, to Glenunga, South Australia, who supported this work as it progressed, particularly those who donated booklets, magazines and newspaper and magazine illustrations for us to do with as we saw fit.

M. F. P. and B. W. P.

West Point, New York

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the following publishers for permission to reprint copyrighted material:

GENERAL OMAR N. BRADLEY, A Soldier’s Story, copyright 1951 by Henry Holt and Company, Inc.

MAJOR JAMES M. HUSTON, Biography of a Battalion, copyright 1954 by James M. Huston.

GENERAL LUCIUS D. CLAY, Decision in Germany, copyright 1950 by Lucius D. Clay, reprinted by permission of Doubleday & Co., Inc.

GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, Crusade in Europe, copyright 1948 by Doubleday and Company, Inc.

SAMUEL ELIOT MORISON, History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, volume 2, Operations in North African Waters, October 1942-June 1943, copyright 1947 by Little, Brown & Company.

LT. GEN. LUCIEN K. TRUSCOTT, JR., Command Missions: A Personal Story, copyright 1954 by E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc.

ALDEN HATCH, George Patton, General in Spurs, copyright 1950 by Julian Messner, Inc.

GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR., War as I Knew It, copyright 1947 by Beatrice Patton Waters, Ruth Patton Totten, and George Smith Patton.

Patton’s War Letters, Atlantic Monthly, November, 1947; December, 1947, and January, 1948.

March from the Beaches, Time, July 26, 1943.

JOHN FIELD, Patton of the Armored Force, Life, November 30, 1942.

BOYD B. STUTLER, America’s First Cars in Combat, The American Legion Magazine, July, 1952.

G. H. RAREY, American Light Tank Brigade at St. Mihiel and American Tank Units in the Foret D'Argonne Attack, Infantry Journal, March, April, 1928.

Cavalry Journal, November, 1916.

GEORGE CREEL, Patton at the Payoff, Collier's Weekly, January 13, 1945.

Contents

Foreword:

Introduction:

Acknowledgments

Chapter I: Introducing the Man and a Gun

Chapter II: The Legend Is Born, 1916

Chapter III: The Making of a Commander, 1917-1918

Chapter IV: From One War to the Next

Chapter V: From TORCH to Sicily

Chapter VI: Sicily in 38 Days

Chapter VII: Thunderbolt Across France

Chapter VIII: Germany and the End

General Patton’s Favorite Pistols and Equipment

Appendix A: The Colt Model 1873 Single Action Revolver

Appendix B: The Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum Revolver

Appendix C: The Remington Model 51 .380 Caliber Automatic

Appendix D: General Patton’s Pistol Belts and Holsters

1. The Myres Belt and Equipment

2. The General Officer’s Belt and Equipment

Footnotes:

Photographs

CHAPTER i

Introducing the Man and a Gun

EARLY in the year 1916, Second Lieutenant George S. Patton, Jr., West Point, Class of ’09, assigned to the 10th United States Cavalry Regiment, placed an order with the Shelton Payne Arms Company of El Paso, Texas, for a civilian version of the famous Colt Peacemaker Army revolver, Model of 1873. This seemingly insignificant act, which has been duplicated by other persons hundreds of thousands of times all over the world, had a peculiar significance in the development of one of the most famous generals the United States Army has produced.

For the pistol, distinguished from its counterparts only by the engraving on the frame and initials of the owner, was to become one of the best known identifying marks of General Patton during World War II. Like many colorful persons, Patton adopted a trademark so that he could be easily distinguished. Jeb Stuart affected a rakish hat and plume; Custer, sailor-like blouses and flowing curls; MacArthur, fancy caps and a king-sized corncob pipe; while in more recent times, Ridgway attached hand grenades to his suspenders.

Patton’s Colt revolver was to become an important part of the many colorful stories and legends that would be told about him. In later years he was rarely seen by his men without it or another equally admired pistol. It was an outward manifestation of a dynamic character and became so intimately associated with his name that pictures of him without it seem bare indeed. With the possible exception of the Deringer used to kill Lincoln, it is probably the best known pistol in America.

When the order was received at Colt’s Patent Firearms factory in Hartford, Connecticut, Patton was sent pistol number 332088. It was shipped March 5, 1916, equipped with a 4¾-inch barrel and ivory stocks. The frame was silver plated, and on the left grip was carved an eagle, wings spread. The right one bore the intertwined initials GSP. The silver plating today bears masterful engraving, but the records of the Colt plant indicate that this must have been done at Patton’s behest after the pistol left the factory.

A Californian by birth, a Southerner by heritage, Patton had been familiar with Colt revolvers since childhood. His grandfather, the first George S. Patton, a Colonel in the Confederate Army, carried a brass-butted cap-and-ball Colt when he was killed in action at Cedar Creek. (This gun is reverently preserved by the Patton family.) Young George learned from his father about John A. Mosby, the Confederate guerrilla leader who rampaged northern Virginia behind Union lines wearing a pair of Colt Model 1851 Navy revolvers. George himself was barely removed from the West’s era of famous gunmen and heard many firsthand accounts of their prowess with the revolver.

He learned the rudiments of shooting by hunting his father’s ranch with a .22 caliber rifle. At West Point he was a member of the Rifle Team and, in addition, developed into an expert swordsman and equestrian. Though he never became an outstanding marksman, Patton was always intimately associated with small arms, both professionally and as a hobby. Even at the accident which proved fatal he had beside him his favorite hunting arm.

From the moment he was old enough to think for himself, he sought a military career. It was a fixation that remained with him al his life, and one of the first tasks he set for himself was to shoot and ride well.

It is probable that his skill with the sword and pistol, as well as riding, led to his being chosen in 1912 to represent the United States in the revival of the Modern Pentathlon at the Olympic Games in Stockholm. The Pentathlon, held July 7-11, was a military contest, and consisted of five competitions in which a dozen men from each nation participated. The first of these was the pistol-shooting contest. From a distance of 25 meters each individual fired twenty shots in four series of five each at a whole figure target, 1.7 meters high and visible for three seconds at ten-second intervals. Any revolver was permitted, as long as it had open fore and back sights.

Patton was terribly disappointed in his showing. Of the forty-two